What was the name of Florence Nightingale's Persian cat?

Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War (1853-1856), in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople, as depicted in the illustration. She gave nursing a favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

Beyond her commitment to reforming causes, details of her private life are sparse. However, a previously unknown letter that shines a light on the Lady of the Lamp’s love of cats was up for auction during 2021.

In the note to a neighbour and friend, Florence Nightingale asks if she knows of a “cat fancier” who might want to take on Mr Bismarck, a “very handsome” Persian tomcat.

Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, is said to have cared for as many as 60 cats during her 90-year life, and liked to name them after prominent men, such as Disraeli and Gladstone and, in this case, Germany’s “Iron Chancellor”.

She took Mr Bismarck in when a friend was moving abroad. Although she tried to find the cat a good home elsewhere, it is thought that she ended up keeping him.